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Parts for the neck |
Now we are ready to fit the neck. I will use some light straight grained mahogany, a good choice for its stiffness, weight and stability. This neck will be reinforced with a couple of bars of carbon fibre for added stiffness as well as an adjustable truss that will be accessed through the soundhole. |
Fitting dovetail and fingerboard |
The channel for the neck reinforcement is cut and the face plate is glued on to the peghead. Then the dovetail on the end of the neck is cut to fit the mortise in the neck block of the guitar. This is carefully shaped and slowly fitted into place, mindful of the proper alignment and neck angle. When finished, a few drops of hot hide glue are sufficient to keep the neck locked in place. |
Fretting the fingerboard |
Ebony bindings are glued to the edges of the fingerboard. These will cover the fret ends and provide a smoother feel to the neck, but will be all but invisible. The fingerboard is then glued in place and the surface is finished off with a slight radius for comfortable fingering. The frets are cut to size and given a bit of curvature to fit the fingerboard and to make fitting easier. The ends are relieved to hang over the bindings, and then the are tapped into place. The ends are trimmed and the surface dressed. Afterwards, the final contours of the neck are shaped, constantly feeling it and checking for smooth regularity and comfortable handling. |